Author 



Title 



Imprint 

FT MEADE 
GenCol 1 


16 - 47372-3 < 





















ZYX AND HIS FAIRY 




OB 


'JhE goUL IN gEARCH OF PEACE- 



°h 


NEW YORK : 

BROWN AND DUER, PUBLISHERS. 


mdcccexyh. 


?Zs 

(321744 

2-y 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1366, by 
Nathan Beown, 

in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for 
the District of New Jersey. 



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| knofo tjjat one bag $ 

^jjali taste of %fct anb its felicitg.' 







































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p and Ms cdfatrg. 

CHAPTER I. 


YX was a good-for-noth- 
ing fellow. He one day 
teased his grand - mother 
with mad pranks, and then 
with saucy laughter es- 
caped from her to the 
mountain den where he 
lived. And E & had no 
means of punishing the 
naughty boy, for she was 
old, and could not chase 
the wild young sprite through the forests 
and over the fens. She could only call 
after him with her grieving but still musi- 
cal voice, as she went sorrowfully on her 
journey alone to the Palace of Crystal, try- 
ing to console herself with thinking of the 
dear friends she should meet there. For 
E £ had traveled a long distance. She could 




8 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

now just see the snow-capped mountains, 
from whose summit long, long years ago, 
as it seemed to her, she caught a glimpse 
of the shining roof of the Palace of Crystal, 
and hearing that her kinspeople lived there, 
set out to seek them. The first part of 
her journey was difficult. But then she 
was young, and was not afraid to leap down 
the steep mountain sides, from crag to 
crag ; and could trip over the rough ways, 
singing as she went. As she grew older, 
her pace became slow, and her voice more 
quiet. Once she met a traveler who had 
seen the palace, and who told her of its 
emerald gates, its galleries of coral, and 
the flat crystal roof through which the 
sunshine fell soft and red into the cham- 
bers below. “Ah !” said Ed, sighing, “ how 
tired I am ! Surely I shall rest there.” 

“Yes” replied the stranger, “the cold 
mountain blasts cannot chill you there. 
There are rooms in the palace where I am 
told no storm can be heard.” “ That will 
suit me,” said Ed, “ I shall then be cured 
of my rheumatism. Only last winter I 
was so stiffened that I cold scarcely m ove, 
and began to fear I should never reach the 
emerald palace.” 

Ed had a daughter who never smiled. 
This melancholy creature wore a gray 
gown, and a thick gray veil, which was 


9 


Syx and Ms If airy. 

always dripping wet with her tears. Yet 
she never sobbed nor spoke, but glided 
about the valleys in the early morning like 
a ghost, and when the sun rose, crept away 
into a dreary cavern on the hillside. She 
had no visitors there, and led, you may 
believe, a forlorn life. 

One morning, just as she was gathering 
her damp robes about her, and preparing 
to go home, she suddenly fainted away, 
and on recovering found herself sailing on 
a wide unknown ocean, full of beautiful 
islands. Bewildered with a delight she 
had never experienced before, and almost 
blinded with light, for she had lost her 
veil, she cried out, speaking for the first 
time in her life, “Where is my home? 
Who has brought me hither?” 

A laughing voice/replied, “ It is I, it is 
Brightbeam! I hive caught you at last. 
Long consultations have your mother and 
I had, as to the best method of enticing 
you away from your dreary haunts. I was 
almost discouraged, for you never would 
look at me. How I have wished you 
might be entangled and entrapped in the 
forest into which you would always glide 
at my approach. I have sometimes even 
kissed the hem of your gray mantle as it 
trailed after you, but no sooner had I done 
so than you vanished.” 


10 


Zyx and his Fairy . 


At this Niffel looked about for her man- 
tle, but it was gone. Without waiting for 
her to speak, Brightbeam went on: “Yes, 
the dismal old gray thing is gone, and 1 
hope you will never find it. I shall dress 
you now, my shining wife, in gorgeous 
gossamer, any color you wish, and we will 
sail on a long, long voyage together, away 
and away, for this ocean has no shore 
through many islands. Your name shall 
be no longer Niffel, but Shiningmist, and 
we will see fair castles and great white 
birds, and wonderful ships, that sail no- 
where but here.” 

So she went with the gay prince, and 
Ed, her mother, was content with the mar- 
riage. 

And when, long after, Brightbeam brought 
this elf, this sprite Zyx to her, saying, “We 
can do nothing with our son ; do you train 
him;” she thought she discovered in her 
grandson a strange mixture of his mother’s 
perverse melancholy, and his father’s wild, 
laughter-loving freedom. “Truly, he is the 
child of the sunbeam and the fog,” said 
she, “ but I will see what can be made of 
him. But Zyx — how came he by that 
name ?” 

“ When he was two months old,” replied 
the prince, “his mother and I hr 1 p 11 ’ 


out. Leaving me, she found 



11 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

gray gown again, and went habited like a 
nun to the Hall of the Fairies. They 
would not admit her, lest her dripping gar- 
ments should put out the lights with which 
the brilliant apartment was illuminated; 
but taking the child (he was so little that 
five of them could lift him) they carried 
him in, and laid him before the queen. 
She was naming seven little faries in white 
dresses who had been brought to her for 
that purpose. In her hand was a box cut 
out of amethyst, from which she removed 
a golden lid, after having tapped upon it 
seven times with an ivory rod. Within 
were the magic letters brought by the elf 
Wincwer from the planet Uranus. Having 
distributed these among the fairy children 
by lot, she said to them, 4 Go, my little 
maids, take the names given you by the 
magic letters. Use your power for good, 
and pity the suffering.’ 

“ When the young fairies were removed 
by the attendants, three letters were found 
dropped upon the shining marble floor. 

“ 4 Good Queen,’ said the kind old fairy 
Kruza, who stood watching my little boy 
as he lay asleep on the edge of the queen’s 
foot-rug ; 4 here is a waif without a name ; 
bestow them upon him.’ 

44 The queen now for the first time saw 
the child, and looking again at the letters, 


12 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

said, ‘ Strange! they are the last of the 
alphabet, the symbols of the unknown ; he 
shall have them ; and she named him ZYX. 
‘But,’ she added with a sigh, ‘grief accom- 
panies these characters. He shall be of a 
restless and uncertain spirit.’ 

“Good Kruza then ordered the attend- 
ants to carry him to his mother. She her- 
self went with them, to relate all that had 
happened, and sent the princess, your daugh- 
ter, away with her blessing. 

“After many months of wandering,” con- 
tinued Brightbeam, “ Shiningmist returned 
to me. I think she has now wholly for- 
gotten the gray gown. But on account 
of our constant journeyings, we find it 
impossible to bestow that attention upon 
our son’s education which we deem neces- 
sary, and therefore I have brought him to 
you.” 

So the prince left Zyx with good old 
E&. She found it quite as difficult to 
manage him as his parents had done, and 
I have already told you how he left her 
to go sadly on to the Palace of Crystal 
alone. 

Meantime Zyx went in jolly mood to his 
den. “Welcome, master Zyx!” screamed 
the great bats that kept him company there. 
The den was cool from the fanning of their 
leathery wings, but Zyx w T as a sprite, and 


13 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

could not feel the cold. It was damp also 
from the filtering of water through the 
mountain above. But Zyx inherited a lik- 
ing for dampness from his mother. It was 
dark, but Zyx’s bright eyes could see as 
well as the bats’. It was silent, but he 
whistled a merry tune, and felt quite free 
and contented. 

“ Hurrah ! my little man said the Vam- 
pire, and his voice came from the farthest 
corner of the cave, “ have you never heard 
of the wonderful pheasant Krinkra ?” 

Zyx peered into the remote darkness, 
and saw the vampire’s mouth stretched into 
a hideous grin. But as this was the natu- 
ral expression of the creature’s countenance, 
he thought nothing strange of it. His two 
eyes glared like coals, his immense ears 
waved to and fro, and had not Zyx been a 
sprite he would no doubt have sucked his 
blood at that moment. 

“The pheasant Krinkra,” continued the 
creature, “ has a golden crest, a golden and 
scarlet tail, a scarlet throat, and fans of 
gold and black upon his head. All day he 
scolds his mate and eats sapphires in the 
magical isle of Dundrum. Those who be- 
hold him are forever happy.” 

And Zyx went in search of the pheasant 
Krinkra. Of every one he met he inquired 
for the magical isle of Dundrum, Most 


14 


Zyx cmd his Fairy . 

^ [e shook their heads and passed silent- 
ly on, not understanding the language he 
spoke, and too intent on their own pursuits 
to pay him much attention. At length a 
traveler, wrapped in a black mantle even 
to his head, listened, and seemed to com- 
prehend, as Zyx repeated what the vampire 
said. 

“ Child,” he replied, “thou hast em- 
barked on a perilous undertaking. Yon- 
der,” and he pointed to a silver streak in 
the horizon just visible from the hill on 
which they stood, “ is an ocean beset with 
storms, and full of whirlpools. In that 
ocean lies the island.” He turned to go, 
adding solemnly, in a low voice, “ Beivare 
of the darkness of the den? 

Zyx pondered over the singular injunc- 
tion, but when he lifted his eyes the stran- 
ger was gone. He proceeded to descend 
the hill, and was encouraged to find, on 
reaching the foot, a level country compara- 
tively easy to traverse. More and more 
distinct became the silver line as he pro- 
ceeded, till at length he could see sails, and 
a broad, clear expanse. 

“Surely,” he thought, “there are no 
whirlpools in that ocean, and it looks now 
as though it had never seen a storm. — 
And there — there!” he said aloud, look- 
ing towards a point of fainter blue in the 


Zyx and his Fairy . 


15 


liorizon, “I am sure that is the Isle Dun- 
drum !” 

He ran now, but soon tired himself, 
and was obliged to lie down to rest. Find- 
ing it near night, he decided to postpone 
the remainder of his journey till the next 
day. 




CHAPTER II. 



HE next morning, on arriv- 
ing at tlie sandy beach, Zyx 
found a crowd of people col- 
lected, who upon inquiry 
proved to be travelers to 
Dundrum. They were be- 
ing transferred in boats to 
a ship in the offing. Zyx 
being a shy boy, made no 
acquaintances, but slipped 
into one of the boats unnoticed, and in a 
few moments found himself alongside the 
ship. As he set foot on deck he heard a 
mysterious whisper, “ Bewa/re of tlie daA 
ness of the den? Zyx looked around, but 
the man who had lifted him had turned 
away, and he was left to his own con- 
jectures. When all were taken on board, 
the anchor was raised, the sails spread, and 
the wind and tide being favorable, the ship 
made good headway. 

The faint blue point grew to a line of 



17 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

perpendicular cliffs, washed at their base, 
with foam. Zyx watched it eagerly, and 
wondered where the harbor was. 

But he dared not ask, for not a word 
was spoken on that ship after the raising 
of the anchor. The passengers all gazed in 
one direction, but no one addressed another. 
The captain gave his orders by signs, and 
the crew worked in silence. At night all 
retired below. Zyx stretched himself on a 
coil of rope, and no sound was heard but 
the dashing of the water. 

With the earliest streak of dawn he 
sprang up, expecting to see the harbor of 
Dundrum, and ready to leap into the first- 
boat that should leave the ship. What 
was his amazement, on looking toward the 
south, to see there the Isle Dundrum look- 
ing precisely as it did the night before ; it 
was no nearer, no farther. The gray cliffs 
rose mockingly out of the waves ; so near 
that the report of a cannon on them might 
have been heard, with the wind in the 
right direction; and the ship was sailing 
swiftly towards them, and had been, Zyx 
knew, all night long. 

During the whole day he watched them, 
but they drew no nearer. The passengers 
looked at each other and at the captain ; 
but did not speak, and all lay down at 
night as before. 


18 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

Day after day was spent in tlie same 
manner, till Zyx grew stiff with the con- 
finement, and thought it would be a relief 
to leap into the sea. Then he remembered 
the dreadful account given of these waters 
by the traveler on the hill, and shuddered. 
That night (it was the seventh since they 
set sail) after the passengers had retired, 
he crept up to the helmsman and determined 
to break the spell of silence. “ Helmsman,” 
said he, “ how far is it to Dundrum ?” 

The man looked up and laughed ; then 
moved his lips as if he would have spoken. 
Zyx saw that he was dumb. All that night 
the child sat at his feet, wide awake, and 
looked at the stars. He saw some new 
ones, and knew that they had traveled 
many hundred miles. All his thoughts he 
told to the helmsman, who answered him 
by signs and seemed pleased with his com- 
pany. 

Just at dawn the sky became overcast; 
the needle was violently agitated, and light- 
ning was seen in various parts of the sky. 
The captain came on deck, the crew were 
awakened, and hasty signs were made to 
furl the sails. Terrific thunder was soon 
heard, and the sea began to boil strangely. 
At the same instant a gust of wind struck 
the one remaining sail, and the ship went 
over on her side. At this the passengers 


19 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

became so alarmed that several leaped into 
the sea. Strange to. say, they recovered 
their voices as they did so ; bnt what they 
said could not be distinguished on account 
of the noise of the tempest. The occasional 
flashes of lightning revealed waterspouts 
in different stages of formation, and before 
the ship could be righted by cutting away 
the masts, it began slowly to describe a 
large circle around the Isle Dundrum. The 
sailors at once deserted their masts, and all 
the inmates of the vessel began to carry 
into execution one common impulse. Each 
had but one thought, one purpose — to save 
himself and his friends. The helmsman, 
seeing he could do nothing more at his 
post, went to Zyx, who* was leaning over 
the bulwarks, and made signs to express 
that he would take him under his protec- 
tion. Filling a water-proof bag with pro- 
visions, he bound it around his waist, and 
then leaped overboard, motioning Zyx to 
follow him. Both swam with main force 
against the dreadful current that was bear- 
ing the creaking ship on to its vortex ; and 
succeeded in reaching the safer, though still 
fearfully agitated waters beyond it. 

“ Keep near me, my boy,” said the old 
man, panting, “ some ship may pick us up, 
for this sea is much traveled.” 

“Tell me, tell me,” said Zyx, almost 


20 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

breathless with fright, “ was that ship en- 
chanted? What is that whirlpool, and 
whither does it tend ?” 

“ To Dundrum,” said his friend, “ but to 
enter it in such a storm would be ruin. 
Our vessel will be dashed upon the rocks 
and shattered to atoms. In quiet weather 
the whirlpool revolves but slowly, and a 
good pilot may, by following its course, 
come safely into port.” 

“And the island — why has it receded 
from us for seven days ?” 

“It is under enchantment. A kraken 
rules it, and moves it where he will. I 
have often been months in reaching it, 
though it is but a day’s sail from the wharf 
at which you embarked. When the kra- 
ken sleeps, the ships enter the magic circle, 
and if no storm occurs, reach the harbor in 
safety.” 

“Why are those that enter the ship 
dumb ?” 

“Because it is itself enchanted, being 
built of timber that grew on Dundrum. 
No v vessels built of other material can enter 
the whirlpool. But see ! the waves are less 
boisterous, and I perceive signs of sunrise 
in the east.” 

By the increasing light they saw a boat 
at some distance. Zyx shouted, and it ap- 
proached them. “Those are are our pas- 


21 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

sengers,” exclaimed tlie helmsman, and then 
swimming towards them, besought them to 
take in himself and Zyx. The little craft 
was already crowded, and after receiving 
the old man settled nearly to the water’s 
edge. He would have given up his place, 
exhausted as he was, saying a young life 
was worth more than an old one, but Zyx 
had swum away and would not return. He 
determined not to go far from the outer cir- 
cle of the whirlpool, having conceived the 
idea of entering it, as soon as the storm 
should wholly abate, and floating to the 
harbor of Dundrum. 




CHAPTER III. 



% 


HALF hour later the sun 
rose clear; the wind aba- 
! ’|K U> an d Zyx entered the 

^ I P/W current. The only exertion 
now required was to keep 
himself ahoat. He lay up- 
on the water as on a soft 
elastic cushion, his eyes al- 
most at the level of the 
glassy surface, and gazed 
up at the now rosy and tranquil sky. The 
water was deliciously warm, and bore him 
on with an even and soothing motion. He 
found himself at last slowly nearing the 
island, whose coast he discovered to be a 
circle of abrupt cliffs, except at one point 
in the southeast, where a pass between the 
rocks disclosed a beautiful harbor within, j 
To this point the current tended, and Zyx 
was carried safely through the strait into 
the harbor, which was quiet as a lake. A 
score of vessels of various shapes, and ap- 
parently from widely separated countries, 


23 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

were anchored in it. Zyx swam to the 
wharf, where several men were standing, 
talking in a language unknown to him. 
He informed them by signs that he had 
been shipwrecked, and pronounced the 
name of the pheasant Krinkra with impa- 
tient gestures. No sooner had he done so, 
than he was seized by his dripping garments 
in a violent manner, his eyes blindfolded, 
and his hands and feet bound with cords. 
Immediately he felt a sensation as of being 
borne away to a great height, and then 
dropped. This produced a dizziness and 
faintness which rendered him unconscious. 
On reviving from the swoon he saw about 
him trees of a different species from any he 
had ever beheld. Their leaves were like 
gigantic blades of grass, and they bore 
large clusters of strange fruit. 

Before he even had time to wonder that 
the bandage was removed from his eyes, 
and the cords from his hands and feet, 
and that his wet garments were replaced 
by thick silken ones of brilliant colors, 
a number of birds with green plumage 
and hooked beaks flew out of the trees 
and alighted before him, exclaiming in 
concert with very harsh but distinct voices, 
“ Haste ; search ; here dwells Krinkra, king 
of birds.” 

Zyx sprang up, and would have made 


24 Zyx and his Fairy . 

further conversation with his strange in- 
formants, but they stared at him in such a 
very solemn way, that the words died on 
his lips. They continued staring until 
he was quite out of sight of them; for 
he often looked back, fearing they might 
follow. 

Zyx found so many new and rare things 
in the garden of the pheasant, (for such 
he concluded the spot to be,) that he some- 
times even forgot the object of his search. 
I have not time to describe the many wild 
creatures that lied from his too eager cu- 
riosity, or the birds of hues that Zyx had 
never seen except in the rainbow, or the 
lifelessly beautiful fishes whose whole ex- 
istence was a dreamless delicious sleep. 

Day after day was spent in happy dis- 
coveries, until he had seen all that was in 
the garden, and was weary of wonderful 
sights. “ Where is the pheasant Krinkra?” 
he said aloud. “ Let me see him, that I 
may be forever happy, and then I will re- 
turn to the dear pine woods.” 

“ Go, and return, but bewcvre of the dark- 
ness of the den!” 

These words were uttered behind him. 
Turning, he saw the figure of a man wrap- 
ped in a mantle even to his head. With 
his left hand he beckoned to Zyx, who 
followed in silence. 


25 


Zyx and This Fairy . 

Arriving, after an hour’s walk, at an 
open spot in the garden, they descended a 
flight of steps, and entered a cool grotto, 
which terminated in a subterranean pas- 
sage, into which, seeing Zyx hesitate, the 
guide led him a little distance by the hand, 
and then leaving him without a word, re- 
traced his steps, and closed a door behind 
him. 

“Alas !” thought Zyx, “ is this the end of 
my toilsome journey ? No light before, a 
fastened door behind, and scarcely any air 
to breathe ! Why did I follow that strange 
guide? Yet there was something in his 
voice that won my confidence. Turning 
back would be of no use ; I will go on. 
It can, at worst, be no darker or closer than 
it is here.” 

Zyx did not know that the underground 
passage followed exactly the windings of 
the green garden path above ; that all the 
steps he had taken, up there among the 
birds and flowers, he must now retrace in 
damp and darkness. The way seemed in- 
sufferably tedious, especially as he had 
serious doubts of its having any termina- 
tion. “Who knows,” said he, “but this 
may be a labyrinth, whose paths return 
upon themselves, and I may be forever im- 
prisoned? It would be a just punishment 
for my unkindness and disobedience. Dear 


26 


Zyx and Ms Fairy . 

grandmother!” (and here his voice was 
choked with sobs,) “ I wish I had followed 
you, and thought of your happiness instead 
of my own !” 

But it was not a labyrinth. The path, 
though winding, had an end, as Zyx dis- 
covered at last, to his delight, by a point 
of light in the distance, to which he ran 
with all the speed his weakened limbs 
would give him. Day and night had been 
the same to him for so many weeks that 
the sunlight almost blinded his eyes. As 
he gradually recovered the power to see, he 
became aware that the subterranean path 
had terminated in a court, floored with 
many-colored stones, and walled up on all 
sides with white marble. At the farther 
end of the court were stairs, which he made 
haste to ascend. 

The sight that greeted him at the top 
was painful in its brilliancy. A floor of 
solid glass, like an unruffled lake, invited 
his footsteps. He knew it to be solid, be- 
cause precious stones of all kinds were 
scattered over it. This pavement, covering 
several acres, was walled in with white 
marble, like the court below. Nothing 
could be seen beyond it to the right or left. 
In front rose a palace of highly polished 
agate, with many windows, and a dome of 
silver. 


Zyx and Ms Fairy. 27 

Zyx’s eyes ached with the sight. He 
longed for something to relieve the dazzling 
luster from which they could not escape. 
No cool green shadows from rustling trees 
fell here ; every blade of grass was merci- 
lessly shut down by the glittering pave- 
ment, which reflected and intensified the 
brightness around it. Zyx went on to the 
gate of the palace. Within he saw many 
human beings, old and young; a few en- 
gaged in mirthful conversation ; others, and 
by far the greater number, wandering about 
with a questioning, unsatisfied expression 
of countenance. Still others sat alone, with 
despair written on their faces. 

“What can this mean?” thought Zyx. 
“Are not those who see the pheasant 
Krinkra forever happy ?” 

No one opposed his entrance ; indeed no 
one seemed to notice him. After passing 
through many rooms, and ascending a 
spiral stairway, guided by the harsh chat- 
tering of a bird, he reached the dome, 
where, on a perch of ebony inlaid with 
gold, sat the pheasant Krinkra and his 
mate pecking at each other. The floor was 
strewn with black and scarlet feathers, and 
I the air was filled with yellow down. They 
only ceased their strife, and Krinkra his 
: chattering, to leap down and snap at the sap- 
phires in a bowl that stood beneath them. 


28 


Zyx a/nd his Fairy . 

Zyx watched them wearily a long time, 
then turned and left the room. On the 
stair he met the mysterious traveler, wrap- 
ped, as before, in a dark mantle, who pass- 
ed on without speaking. 

After wandering about the palace for a 
long time, too dejected to attempt to make 
any acquaintances, Zyx lay down on the 
hard floor and went to sleep. The next 
day he strolled about in the same way, 
and the next, and the next ; going to the 
dome occasionally, where he invariably 
witessed the same distressing scene. He 
spent a week in this manner, growing 
every day more weary and dissatisfied. 
Once, meeting a young girl weeping, he 
begged to know if he could in any way 
relieve her distress. 

“Alas!” said she, “if possible, tell me 
how I may escape from this prison ! Ten 
days have I been here, with no food but 
turquoises, and I am hungry — hungry — 
hungry!” A fearful yellow pallor came 
over her emaciated features as she em- 
phasized the last words, and lifting her 
scarf, showed where she had nourished 
herself by sucking the blood from her arm. 

Perceiving that she was too faint to 
speak further, Zyx bade her sit on the stair 
till he should seek the traveler who had 
twice so mysteriously guided him. He 


29 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

hardly knew where to go, and indeed had 
little hope that his friend was still in the 
palace. After searching every room in 
vain, and finding no one that could give 
him the desired information, he was about 
returning to the young woman, when he 
heard voices above, and saw her descend- 
ing, supported by the very person of whom 
he was in search. 

“ Go with us ;” he said to Zyx, with his 
usual air of authority. They passed through 
the corridors in silence, crossed the glass 
pavement, and reaching the marble wall at 
the right, paused a moment, while the 
guide removed a slab near the ground, 
thus disclosing a means of exit. Too 
oveijoyed to speak, the young girl passed 
through, followed by Zyx and the guide, 
who then replaced the slab. 

Zyx was surprised to find himself in 
precisely the spot where the nine green 
parrots had said to him, “ Haste ; search ; 
here dwells Krinkra, king of birds.” Climb- 
ing one of the trees, he threw down some 
of the delicious fruit, with which the poor 
girl’s hunger and thirst were soon appeased. 

“Kind friends,” she said, “I ask of you 
one more favor. Help me to leave forever 
this dreary island.” 

Well acquainted as their guide was with 
the island, Zyx and his companion had no 


30 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

difficulty in reaching the wharf. He only 
left them when they were safely embarked, 
repeating these words as he lifted Zyx in- 
to the ship: u A Bewa/re of the darkness of 
the den!” 

During the voyage, Zyx would gladly 
have learned something of the history of 
the young girl so happily rescued from 
starvation, but the inexorable spell again 
bound every tongue but his own. 

The trip was accomplished in twenty- 
four hours, without storm or disaster. At 
the landing, a careworn, middle-aged man 
came up to the young woman, and looking 
for a moment intently into her face, burst 
into tears. 

“ My father !” she exclaimed, and was 
borne away in a swoon. Zyx, finding his 
services no longer required, retraced his 
steps across the plain, and reascended the 
hill. ^ 

His journey home was a melancholy one. 
Disappointed and restless, he had nothing 
to do but to revolve in his mind the extra- 
ordinary events of his expedition to Dun- 
drum. Nothing urged him forward now, 
and he went on towards home, only for 
want of something more exciting to do. 



CHAPTER IV. 

N his return Zyx wandered 
in the woods for days in 
a disconsolate mood. His 
home was not attractive. 
The noisome vapors nause- 
ated him, and he hated the 
vampires for the lies they 
had told. 

u I wish,” he said one 
morning half aloud, as he 
watched a mountain cascade leaping over a 
clilf, “ that I had gone with my grand- 
mother to the Palace of Crystal. She at 
least, would have sung me pleasant songs, 
but here no one cares for me.” 

“ Dear child, I care for you,” said a mourn- 
ful voice by his side, and looking up he 
saw his mother in her gray cloak, with a 
gaily colored scarf about her throat. “ Lis- 
ten to me. The good sprite Kruza whis- 
pered a secret in my ear when she restored 
you to me from the palace of the fairy 



32 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

queen. ‘As our queen was naming your 
son,’ said slie ‘ I saw a moving picture in 
the marble platform under her feet. The 
little Zyx, with the seven fairies just named 
appeared in a dance; and one, the most 
beautiful, the youngest, smiled graciously 
on him, took him by the hand, and they 
wandered into the forest together. Be 
sure,’ Kruza added, ‘that this betokens 
good to the child ; whether sooner or later, 
I cannot tell.’ But I have only this short 
moment to stay,” continued Shiningmist; 
“already your father misses me.” The 
gray cloak dropped off, and Zyx saw the 
robe of rainbow colors underneath, just 
as his mother vanished behind the water- 
fall. 

“Ah,” sighed Zyx, “ if I might only find 
that kind fairy, and live in the forest with 
her ! I will search for her. The creatures 
of the wood, perhaps, will tell me how to 
find her.” 

So he commenced his search. Now Zyx 
thought no one cared for him, but it so 
happened that all the trees of the forest 
and their inhabitants knew him well, and 
talked the same language. They would 
have loved him, had it not been for the 
mildew of the den that clung to his clothes, 
and matted his hair. 

Zyx first met a raven going to a grand 


Zyx and his Fairy. 33 

council of his tribe which was to be belcl 
in a neighboring grove. 

“O Eaven, Eaven!” said be eagerly, 
“tell me where my fairy lives, and how I 
shall know her.” 

The raven looked very wise and answer- 
ed, “ I cannot tell where she lives, but you 
shall know her by the color of her hair. 
It is darker than the shadow of the pines 
at twilight.” 

In the pond a swan rowed about with 
its oar-like feet, and scooped up worms 
from the mud. 

“ O Swan ! tell me where my fairy lives, 
and how I shall know her.” 

The swan washed her bill and answered, 
“I cannot tell where she lives, but you 
shall know her by her throat. It is white 
as the deepest clouds in the lake, and her 
skin is soft and downy.” 

On a beech tree sat a jay, and Zyx said, 
“O Jay! tell me where my fairy lives, and 
how I shall know her.” 

“ I cannot tell where she lives, but you 
shall know her by her dress. It is blue as 
the sky between clouds, when your back is 
towards the sun.” 

“I can tell where she lives;” squeaked 
a nut-brown squirrel, playing a tattoo on a 
fallen log with his paws, and holding up- 
right his quivering feathery tail. “She 


34 


Zyx and Jiis Fairy. 

loves the chestnut trees, because there she 
plays at ball with me. But at romps I 
always beat. Her hands and feet are too 
soft for running and climbing.” 

“Vain fellow!” said the chestnut tree, 
shaking all its hanging green blossoms, 
“ Do you not know that it is the shadows 
of my rare-notched leaves she loves ?” 

“ What is that ?” said the silver fir. “ Do 
you not know that she sits under your 
shade that she may the better see my pur- 
ple cones? I have often heard her say 
they are the color of a dove’s throat.” 

“ Shame on you !” said all the mosses of 
the log in concert ; but they could not all 
together make sound enough for the fir and 
the chestnut to hear. The squirrel did, 
however, and so did Zyx. 

“Shame on you; to pretend that you 
are the objects of her love, when you must 
know that she has sharp eyes to see our 
finer beauty, and a keen brain to understand 
our more delicate organization.” 

“Well, well,” said the ferns that grew 
close by, beside the waterfall, “if this 
isn’t cool, when every body knows per- 
fectly well that she comes to get the effect 
of our graceful curves and tender greenness 
in the morning sunshine.” 

“You would have fine curves and color 
without me,” laughed the brook. “Look 


35 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

at those wizzled gray cousins of you^s, up 
yonder on the rock. Does she visit them?” 
Then in a softer tone ; “ I won’t talk about 
her to you, selfish creatures ; only it may 
do you good to know that I left the still- 
ness of the mountain top that I might cool 
the air around her, and shall always flow 
for her sake. She may love me or not, 
only let her drink of me, and wet her hair 
in my spray, and I am contented.” 

Meantime the raven had proceeded to 
his synod, and the swan to her breakfast. 
The jay went to tell the news to his mate, 
and the squirrel found a hickory nut under 
his log ; the chestnut tree concluded it was 
too much trouble to continue the discussion, 
and the silver fir became absorbed in its 
own reflections (in the pond); the sun was 
now too warm for further exertion on the 
part of the mosses and ferns, and Zyx, 
finding all silent, returned to his den. 




CHAPTER V. 


OR days Zyx searched the 
wood in vain, until he sus- 
pected all living things of 
deceit, and determined to con- 
fine himself to his den. “I 
wish I could get rid of these 
bats,” he v said to himself. 
But they had inhabited the 
cave as long as he, and had 
no idea of being ousted. 

One night Zyx’s sleep was often dis- 
turbed by noises overhead, as of a pickaxe 
and hammer. Not sufficiently awakened to 
trouble himself to ascertain the cause, he 
continued in a restless slumber until morn- 
ing, when a flash of light and the falling 
of a heavy stone from the roof of the cave 
brought him to his senses. The light was 
not merely a flash, it was a steady stream, 
falling through a shaft which extended to 
the top of the mountain, and illuminated 
the remotest corner of the cave. Directly 
under the shaft stood the mysterious guide, 



37 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

his face hidden as before; only one won- 
drous shining lock of gold escaped from 
the mantle, which was brushed backwards 
by the fresh breezedhat now blew through 
the cave. Too bewildered to speak, Zyx 
sank down again on the wet ground, and 
covered his eyes with his hand to shield 
them from the light. 

The stranger stood silently before him, 
and after a few moments stooped down, 
and gently, but very decidedly, unclasped 
the lad’s fingers, and bade him look around 
him. 

Zyx shuddered as he did so. A green 
pool, filled with hideous creatures, lay 
almost at his feet ; the ground about and 
under him was mud ; on the fissured rocky 
sides of the cavern were collected drops of 
unwholesome moisture, in which a pale, 
lifeless moss grew; huge spiders had fes- 
tooned the roof with their webs, and 
though the bats had fied from the sunlight, 
their great clammy wings could be dis- 
tinctly seen in the corners. 

“Alas!” said Zyx, “is this then my 
home? Why have 1 not made it better 
worth your presence, kind guide ? I have 
wasted my time in a fruitless journey, and 
now it is too late ; this hole can never be 
made habitable;” and he burst into tears 
and shrank into a dark corner. The stran- 


38 


Zyx cmd his Fairy. 

ger made no reply, and when Zyx dried his 
tears and looked up, a few minutes after, 
he was gone. 

Zyx found a pickaxe, drill and hammer, 
half imbedded in the mud under the shaft, 
and tried, by pounding on the stones, to 
frighten away the bats, but with no effect. 
They only clung the tighter to the rock, 
with their long lean fingers. He tried to 
scrape off the moss from the wet walls 
with his hands, but to no purpose. “ Per- 
haps,” thought he, “ the fresh breeze and 
the sunshine will dry up this mud in time 
and he lay down to sleep, dejected, but not 
wholly discouraged. 

The next morning, on waking, he saw his 
unknown guest standing under the shaft as 
before. “My son,” said he, “this cave is 
not a fit home for thee. Take this drill 
and hammer, and dig thee another.” 

Zyx looked hesitatingly at the granite 
wall which bounded the den on all sides, 
and was filled with dismay ; but a strange 
pang shot through his heart, as the stranger 
repeated sorrowfully, “ Dig thee another ;” 
and taking the implements, he went to the 
farther end of the cavern, and attacked the 
wall with such such vigorous blows that 
the bats looked at each other and won- 
dered. 

He made no impression ; not even a chip 


39 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

was cracked from the foundations of the 
mountain, but he beat on vigorously. 
“ Since he bids me, I will do it,” thought 
he, “ whether the labor avail anything or 
not.” Presently he turned, finding his arm 
arrested by a strong hand laid upon it. 
The touch was light, the clasp was a caress ; 
and at that instant Zyx felt a new life 
coursing through all his veins. 

Raising his other arm he wielded the 
hammer as before, but now the fissure in 
which he had planted the pick began to 
widen, and flakes of rock to fall off under 
his blows. Hour after hour he toiled thus, 
with his guide’s hand grasping the arm in 
which he held the drill, and found, at the 
end of a day’s toil, that a considerable ex- 
cavation had been made. 

When the task was done, his guide left 
him, coming back the next morning to 
assist him as before. Every day he return- 
ed, and left him when the allotted task for 
the day was over. Sometimes Zyx grew 
weary of the monotonous work, but the 
closer grasp of his now familiar, though 
still unseen friend always restored his en- 
ergy. 

Once the guide said, as Zyx stopped to 
wipe the sweat from his forehead, “My 
child, be not discouraged if thou find thy 
task a long one. It is not to be accom- 


40 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

plished in a day, nor in a month. Years 
must elapse ere it be completed. Thou 
wilt need all tlie resolution thou canst com- 
mand. An indomitable will and a far- 
seeing patience must be thine.” 

Once Zyx dug at a certain spot a month 
without visible effect. “Kind friend,” he 
said, “let me go to a softer place. This 
huge mass will never yield to my puny 
blows, and if it should, it would in falling 
overwhelm me.” 

“Do thy duty , my son” replied the guide 
sternly; yet tears dropped from beneath 
the mantle upon the obdurate rock, and 
Zyx felt that his clasp was tighter. 

Another month he worked at the same 
spot. Often his arms would become quite 
stiff, before the day’s task was accomplished, 
but the guide never relented. He some- 
times held the lad for a moment in a close 
embrace, stroking his hair, and calling him 
by various tender names, which made Zyx 
wonder, and woke a strange tumult in his 
heart. But it was only for a moment ; he 
would then release him, and bid him re- 
sume his work. 

At length the mass of granite began, 
not to be loosened, but to sink in a myste- 
rious manner; only a hairbreadth a day, 
yet so steadily that Zyx took heart, and 
hammered away with redoubled rapidity. 


41 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

It was a full year before it bad so far de- 
scended tbat Zyx could see over tbe top c* 
it into a large grotto beyond, bung witb 
luminous crystals and floored witb stal- 
agmites. 

It was a joyful day wben be leaped over 
tbe bateful barrier, and found bimself in 
tbis beautiful cave. “ Dear guide !” be 
exclaimed, “ dwell bere witb me. Let us 
forget past toil, and tbe filth and darkness 
of tbe den.” 

Tbe guide smiled, and said nothing. 
Tbe next morning wben Zyx woke, be saw 
tbat a second shaft bad been sunk from tbe 
top of tbe mountain, and tbe sunlight let 
in. Looking up through it, be saw tbe 
blue sky, and beard a sweet distant noise 
as of birds. A rare perfume came down 
through it, which be stood a long time to 
inhale. On coming back to bis grotto, be 
found tbe stalactites no longer luminous, 
and though it was in other respects as be- 
fore, tbe new home bad lost its charm. 
Tbe air, though infinitely better than tbat 
of tbe den, was still somewhat close, and 
Zyx went back to tbe shaft and looked up. 

“ O tbat I might go up, and live on the 
top of tbe mountain ! Those tbat live there 
might let down a rope, and my guide, 
who must have dug tbe shaft, might draw 
me up.” 


42 


Zyx and his Fairy . 


“ Here are thy tools” said a mild but firm 
voice beside him, and turning be saw bis 
friend, wbo placed tbe drill and hammer 
in tbe bands of tbe astonished Zyx, and 
led tbe way to tbe remote end of tbe grotto, 
where another granite wall obstructed tbe 
way. 

“Tbe path to tbe mountain top lies 
through this rock tbe same voice added, 
after Zyx bad begun bis work. 




CHAPTER VI. 



OTWITHSTANDING his 
toil, Zyx went now every- 
day to the forest, and talked 
with the creatures there. 
He never told them of his 
den, or who visited him, but 
conversed with them of other 
matters, of the great green 
earth, the seas, the blue air, 
and the clouds. They told 
him many things that he never knew be- 
fore, and became more and more kind to' 
him as they noticed his hair become dry 
and lustrous, and his garments clean and 
fresh. He almost ceased to think of his 
fairy, and never inquired for her now ; but 
seemed happy, if not yet fully contented. . 

One morning the squirrel said, in his 
fine, piping voice, “ Look, Zyx ! there are 
three children who will play with you. I 
know them well; their names are Faeger, 


44 


Zyx and Ms Fairy . 

Faegen, and Frith. They come often to 
the wood to see me ” — and off he darted, 
and was in the top of the oak, under which 
the children were playing, in a trice. 
They laughed to see him, and clapped their 
hands, then pelted him with acorns ; but 
he only shook his tail saucily, and flashed 
from limb to limb, at a rate quite dazzling 
to Zyx’s eyes, who tried to follow his mo- 
tions. Presently he began to pelt them in 
return, and Zyx ran to their aid. At length 
the four, tired and out of breath, gave up 
the game, and the squirrel dropped down 
on Frith’s shoulder, and put his head under 
her chin. Then she stroked his striped 
back, and he looked impudently up at 
Zyx, as much as to say, “ Don’t you wish 
you were I?” 

But Zyx was busy picking up Faeger’s 
berries and replacing them in the basket, 
which had been upset ; and she, with her 
plump white fingers, was trying to help 
him. But her brown curls constantly fell 
into her eyes, and she made poor work of 
it. Zyx told her she would stain her white 
dress, whereupon she sat down, and fanned 
herself with an oak leaf. 

“ Little boy,” said Faegen, who had 
but just noticed Zyx, “where did you 
come from ? Does your mother live in the 
wood ?” 


45 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

“ My mother lives in the shy,” said Zyx. 
“ and wears a jeweled dress.” 

“Poor fellow!” whispered Faeger to 
Frith. “ I wonder how long ago she died.” 

“No said Zyx, who heard, “ she cannot 
die ; she is immortal. Her name is Shin- 
ingmist.” 

“ How strange !” thought Faegen. Frith 
still stroked the squirrel, who did not un- 
derstand human speech, as Zyx did. 

“ My mother,” said Faeger, “lives in the 
castle on the hill. I live there too, with 
my cousin Faegen, whose father and mother 
died many years ago. We have a cross 
old nurse, who is sick now, and we can 
run away and play in the wood with our 
Frith.” 

Zyx glanced at Frith’s blue dress of 
wool, and thought he never saw one so 
soft and beautiful. He wanted to ask 
where she lived too, but dared not, and 
only said, “What games do you play, 
Faeger?” 

“ Oh,” replied Faegen, answering instead 
of her cousin, “ when we are tired of this 
saucy rogue,” (and she reached her arm 
around Frith’s neck, and pulled the squir- 
rel’s tail,) “we go and feed our rabbits 
and our birds. We have a great many 
families to take care of. Then there is a 
pond where we row in a little boat, and 


46 


Zyx and his 'Fairy. 

sometimes we pick berries and gather nuts, 
and sometimes we keep house in our little 
castle.” 

Zyx wondered where and what their 
little castle was, and they took him to it 
by a well worn footpath through the brakes. 
Faegen led the way, and Zyx followed the 
others, with the basket of berries. The 
squirrel, jealous of the attention Zyx was 
receiving, had gone home sulkily to his 
log. 

The “castle” was near a now unused 
quarry of brown stone. “These two large 
blocks,” said Faegen, “ were cut a hundred 
years ago, when my uncle’s castle was built, 
but not being required, were left here, 
and are now covered, as you see, with beau- 
tiful white and brown lichens. Faeger 
and I laid these birch sticks across for a 
roof, and bark above them to keep out the 
rain.” 

“Frith told us how to make that arch of 
tamarack branches, and inside, oh, inside,” 
said Faeger, her blue eyes sparkling with 
pleasure, “ such carpets ! But come in and 
see.” Zyx followed her. The little house 
was just high enough for the children to 
stand in. “This moss Frith brought us; 
she never would tell where she found it, 
and when it is withered she brings fresh.’ 

Zyx thought the floor too dainty to step 


47 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

on, with its green elastic carpet, variegated 
with rosettes of brown lichens, some with 
shaded rings, and a wonderful silken velvet 
bloom on the lower surface, some white 
and stiff like paper, some of mixed gray 
and lavender, with delicate branches, like 
trees stripped of their leaves and bark. 

“This,” said Faegen, pointing to the long 
green plumes of thread-like lichen that 
festooned the roof, “ Frith calls mermaid’s 
hair ; she gets it from pine trees.” 

Heaps of dried moss served the children 
for seats and a table. Over the latter 
Faegen spread a napkin, and going to a 
large basket that stood in the corner, took 
out some dainty tarts and cake, and laid 
upon it. These, with Faeger’s berries, 
served for their lunch, and Frith brought 
in water from a cold spring near by, in a 
silver cup which hung at her belt. 



CHAPTER VII. 


HE picnic and the merry- 
talk of his new friends were 
a rare treat to Zyx. He 
soon felt as much at home 
with the light-hearted little 
maids as if they had been 
his sisters ; except with 
Frith, of whom he was 
afraid. Not that there was 
anything terrifying in the 
nee ; certainly her black curls 
and eyebrows were no more apalling than 
Faeger’s brown ones, or Faegen’s braided 
flaxen hair. Faeger’s hair curled tightly; 
her cousin sometimes pulled a lock out to 
its full length, to see it fly back like an 
untwisted spring. But Frith’s swept down 
in larger curves. “I like yours better,” 
said the amiable Faeger to her; “nurse 
would say it shows a candid temper of 
mind. She scolds at mine, and says I am 
dreadfully stubborn, all owing, no doubt, 
to my hair.” 



Zyx and his Fairy . 49 

Faegen had now folded the napkin, and 
stood waiting. 

Come, Faeger, let ns go. Poor Dortha 
will get another scolding from nurse, who 
will be sure to wake and inquire for us.” 

The little party left their castle, closed 
up the entrance with hemlock branches, 
and retraced their steps by the foot-path. 
At its termination Faeger and Faegen said 
good-bye to Zyx and Frith, after many 
affectionate entreaties to the latter to ac- 
company them. She only shook her head 
sadly, kissed them both, and turned into 
the denser forest, apparently forgetting 
Zyx, who stood under the oak looking after 
her. 

“ Where can she be going? Surely some 
harm will overtake her in that unfrequent- 
ed wood,” he thought. But he dared not 
follow. There was that in her mien that 
had kept him at a distance. Though her 
manner was most courteous, and unaffect- 
edly kind, one might not presume to ques- 
tion, or hope fully to know her. 

Once, for he was often one of the com- 
pany at the little castle afterwards, when 
Frith was absent, he said to Faegen, “ Do 
you know where Frith’s home is V 

“ She lives down in the glen ; at least, 
so everybody says that I have asked. You 
know the way the brook goes to the river ? 


50 


Zyx and Ms Fairy. 

There are pleasant meadows there, and 
groves of beech.” 

“ I know they say she lives there,” added 
Faeger, “but there is something about 
Frith that makes me think strange things 
of her. Did I tell you, Faegen, what I 
dreamed the other night ? I thought I saw 
her with the fairies ; she seemed quite at 
home among them, and they talked and 
played and danced with her, just as though 
she had been one of themselves. I asked 
nurse afterwards, if fairies ever were of the 
size of human children, and she said No, 
and then, after thinking a minute, she re- 
membered her grandmother telling her a 
story when she was a little girl, of a baby 
into whom a fairy’s spirit had entered. 
He grew up to be a man, and never would 
fight, but spent his life in curing sick peo- 
ple and other good works.” 

“You area fanciful girl, Faeger,” said 
her cousin, who seemed the older, and had 
a way of assuming superior wisdom, though 
the children were born on the same day. 
“I don’t see anything mysterious in Frith, 
for my part, and should be quite wretched 
if I were to invent such uncanny stories 
about her. I should be thinking of them 
all the time she is with us.” 

♦ “ I do think of them all the time, and 
they are very pleasant to think about, and 


51 


Zyx and Jiis Fairy . 

not in the least uncanny. Sweet Frith, 
I wish she would come and live with us.” 

“So do I, and then you would be con- 
vinced that she is a solid lump of real 
flesh and blood, as nobody shall make me 
believe she is not. I am glad the dear 
child can’t know how you slander her.” 

“ Well, dear Faegen, don’t let us quarrel 
now ; we haven’t, you know, all these ten 
years we have lived together.” 

“ Only once,” said Faegen laughing, 
“when I tried to make you believe that 
nurse told your mother a falsehood, and 
that you were the orphan and I the daugh- 
ter of the house.” 

“ Be still,” said Faeger, “ what’s the dif- 
ference % We are of the same blood. W ere 
not our mothers twin sisters, and our fath- 
ers twin brothers ? And, ” she added more 
gently, “we have the same father and 
mother now.” 

The next day Zyx did not join his little 
Mends, but went, after his task was done, 
to the waterfall, and sat there thinking of 
his mother, and wishing he might see her 
again. 

He knew not how long he had been sit- 
ting there, when Frith’s blue dress appear- 
ed, fluttering through the sweet fern, and 
over the clumps q? juniper. He thought 
of what the jay said, and repeated to him- 


52 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

self, “It is just like the sky between clouds 
when one’s back is towards the sun.” Then 
he remembered the swan, and said, “And 
her throat is white as clouds in the sky, 
and her hair is black as the shadow of 
pines at twilight. Oh, my fairy!” He 
sprang towards her ; a longing seized him 
to touch her dress at least, and hold her 
fast; when he suddenly remembered that 
his hands were daubed with mud and 
mould from his morning’s work. 

Frith had not seen him, for the chestnut 
tree was between them. Her little feet 
pattered rapidly on, and she was soon out 
of sight again. 

Zyx burst into tears, then checking him- 
self said, “ My guide forbids me to waste 
my strength by weeping ; I shall need it 
to-morrow*” 




CHAPTER VIII. 

TILL Zyx went on with 
his excavation. At inter- 
vals, as he penetrated into 
the heart of the mountain, 
shafts were let down to 
give him light and air; 
but otherwise one day’s 
work* was very much like 
another. What all this mi- 
ning would amount to in 
the end, he knew not, but he put implicit 
confidence in his guide, and learned thor- 
oughly the lesson of obedience. “Child,” 
this faithful friend said to him one day, 
u thy wayward temper has driven thee from 
thy parents, but I will lead thee. Be my 
son.” And Zyx learned that duty was 
the true goal of all effort, the sufficient end 
and reward of toil. 

Some of these things he told Frith one 
day, as they walked in the wood together, 
and she thereupon took his hand, stained 



54 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

and rough as it was, and they went on a 
long way, hand in hand, he forgetting 
meantime how much fairer she was than he, 
and daring to talk familiarly to her, as to 
an equal. 

Many long summer afternoons they play- 
ed together happy and quiet games, for 
they were young children yet. Faegen and 
Faeger no longer came into the forest to 
play, for the nurse had recovered, and kept 
them at their embroidery. Zyx did not 
miss them, kind friends though they were, 
but he and Frith often talked about them, 
and Zyx sometimes wove baskets of bark, 
filled them with berries, and carried them 
to the castle for the little girls. 

“ I wish,” she said one day to Frith after 
one of these errands, “ that I owned a cas- 
tle like that.” 

“What would you do with it?” asked 
Frith. 

“ I would first enlarge the windows and 
let in more light ; then I would adorn it 
with pictures and vases, and all manner of 
rare plants. I would search over the world 
for curious and dainty toys. In one room 
should be selected all the wise and enter- 
taining books that have been written from 
the beginning of the world, and in the 
hall should be many instruments of music 
and musicians of genius to play on them. 


55 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

Frith patted his glowing cheeks and 
said, “ You would need to be a prince, lit- 
tle Zyx, to do all those fine things.” 

u That I would be, and a fairy princess 
should be the lady of the castle. Her 
hands and feet should be dainty, small, 
and she herself as delicate as a lily. She 
should be wiser than I, but simple in her 
speech and ways as a little child ; not like 
Faeger, who is sweet-tempered, but has few 
thoughts beyond her home; quiet in all 
her motions, not like Faegen, who bustles 
about too much for the high-born maiden 
that she is.” 

Frith had not heard a word of this in- 
ventory of perfections. Her ear had caught 
the word “ fairy,” and . she had been looking 
fixedly at him ever since, in a kind of be- 
wilderment, and when he ended by saying, 
“My fairy’s name must be Peace,” she ex- 
claimed in a startled whisper, “How did 
you learn my secret ?” 

“ Oh, I have friends who know you well, 
Frith,” he replied, secretly delighted to 
have her at such an advantage, and a little 
vexed that she should have forgotten so 
soon all about his castle, and should not 
even condescend to be interested in his 
compliments. But when he saw the sud- 
den paling of her cheeks and lips at the 
word “ friends,” he related the whole story 


56 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

of the hall of the fairies, and his admission 
to it, and all that Kraza had told his moth- 
er, and finally his search for her. 

She interrupted him often with questions. 
When he came to the naming of the fairies 
with the magic letters, Frith said sadly : 

“ I never could conceive why my name 
should be Peace; I am never at rest; I 
question all things, myself, all living beings, 
the earth, and alas, even things unseen. I 
mistrust them, I find something inexplica- 
ble in them all. Why did the fates, unless 
.in mockery, give me that name ?” 

“/know,” said Zyx. You question, but 
I am quiet. You are the perpetual answer 
to my doubts. You are my Frith.” 

The fairy turned suddenly away, and 
Zyx saw no more of her that day. He re- 
turned to his home more than ever deter- 
mined to push on his mining vigorously. 

The next time he saw the fairy she was 
cheerful, as usual, and they played with 
Faegen’s wild rabbits, who told them all 
their family history, and the difficulty they 
had in obtaining a living now that their 
kind patroness had deserted them. 

Frith in return told them all she knew 
of Faeger and Faegen, and recommended 
to the father and mother to move to a more 
favorable location. 

“We chose this,” replied the father, “be- 


57 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

cause we are liere safe from sportsmen, and 
would rather suffer a little from lack of 
grass and clover, than to be in continual 
terror.” 

Frith took up the little ones carefully 
and fed them with some tender leaves. As 
she did so, Zyx noticed a gash upon her 
wrist, and several traces of blood on her 
hands. 

“What can have happened to Frith?” 
he asked himself, but dared not put the 
question to her. 





CHAPTER IX. 


NE night Zyx, unable to 
sleep, left the cave, and 
crossing the forest, came to 
the brook, and followed it 
towards the valley. Its 
sound had attracted him, 
for it seemed more softly 
musical than ever before, 
and a noise as of tiny oars 
plashing in the water, min- 
gled with its murmur. He threaded his 
way through the alders, guided partly by 
its voice, and partly by the occasional glim- 
mer of its ripples in the moonlight. There 
was a strange sound in the leaves over his 
head, too. It was like the tinkling of bells 
far off; so very soft that he could only 
hear it when he stopped. He looked up, 
but could see nothing, and went on very 
much puzzled, till he came to an open spot, 
where soft green grass grew quite to the 
margin of the brook, which was here quiet 




59 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

as a lake. He was just emerging from 
tke thicket, and about to step on the turf, 
when lie found himself arrested, he knew 
not by what. The atmosphere all at once 
became impenetrable to him. It was as if 
he had attempted to walk through a mirror. 
A murmur as of the buzzing of bees came 
from the grass, and looking down he saw, 
in spots where the ground was bare, multi- 
tudes of little carriages made of shells in- 
laid with rubies. The bees that were har- 
nessed to these tiny barouches kept up a 
restless pawing on the pavement of pearls, 
and threatened to break the reins of spiders- 
web by means of which the drivers held 
them. Over each barouche was suspended 
a gilded canopy to which minute silver bells 
were attached, and Zyx now understood 
the rustling noises in the wood. 

u So I have come upon a fairy festival ! 
No wonder the leaves kept up a marvelous 
trembling and shaking over my head with 
these equipages rattling over them. I’d 
like to see the road they came by, and the 
pontoons they threw from leaf to leaf!” 

The light of the moon was intensified by 
lenses and reflectors, which, elevated on 
quills at suitable intervals, threw so bril- 
lianf a light on the central square that Zyx 
could distinctly see all that transpired there. 
The avenues leading to it became more and 


60 Zyx and his Fairy . 

more thronged with carriages, from which, 
at length a procession of fairy people 
issued ; the ladies, dressed in azalea petals, 
with diamond necklaces, and girdles ot 
braided gold ; the fairy cavaliers in suits of 
laurel leaf, each with a rose-prickle dagger 
dangling at his belt. All wended their 
way to the tent in the center of the square, 
which was spacious enough, Zyx judged, 
to accommodate ten thousand guests. The 
still surface of the brook presented an 
equally animated scene. Fairy barges 
were ferrying across the stream those 
who lived on the other side, while other 
pleasure boats in great numbers were 
nearing the wharf both from above and 
below. Zyx was absorbed in watching 
them, when he heard his name whispered 
in his ear, and turning suddenly, saw the 
fairy Kruza standing on a beech leaf, 
lie knew it must be she, for who else 
knew his name ? and besides, it was a grave, 
quiet-looking fairy, with the most benevo- 
lent face, so sweet in expression that the 
very wrinkles showing her age seemed to 
add to her beauty. 

“ Zyx !” she repeated, “ this ground is en- 
chanted. You cannot enter, you cannot 
join this festival. Neither can you remain 
here longer, for the ceremonies of the night 
are of so mysterious and secret a character 


61 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

"that it is death for any but a fairy to wit- 
ness them. But follow me ; you shall wait 
in the glen until dawn, and I will then come 
and talk with you.” 

Kruza, stepping from leaf to leaf, led 
him by a circuitous way farther down the 
stream, where it passed through a lonely 
defile. “ Wait in this grove of oaks,” she 
said, “ till I return,” and left him. Lulled 
by the sound of the water, Zyx fell asleep, 
and lay quite motionless till nearly dawn, 
when Kruza’s fine shrill voice in his ear 
waked him. He followed her again in 
silence. When they had reached the 
summit of a grassy knoll, Kruza pointed 
to a moonlit spot below, and whispered, 
a Look !” 

Separate from the forest stood a light- 
ning-struck pine, stripped of foliage, but 
wrapped in moss and festooned with 
lichens. Only two branches remained, 
stretching out from the trunk like out- 
spread arms. The tree cast a gigantic 
shadow upon the grass, and within this 
gloom Zyx presently discerned the figure 
of a child. It was motionless; its arms 
were extended toward the withered trunk, 
.find its outspread hands were buried in the 
wet grass. While Zyx looked, the moon- 
light touched the face, and he saw that it 
was Frith ! lie could not mistake, though 


62 


Zyx and Ms Fairy. 

the eyes were shut, and the flushed cheek 
was half-hidden by damp and tangled hair. 

“Alas!” said Zyx, “ where is her horned 
Let me lead her to it. She „ has lost her 
way, and will breathe in unwholesome va- 
pors from the forest.” 

“No,” replied Kruza, sternly. “Do yon 
not see how strong and well she looks, and 
what happy dreams flush her face ? There- 
is medicine in the fragrance of the tree.. 
As to homes, she has many, and can find 
her way to her friends without help. Bub 
an evil Genie has for many years threatened 
her life, and I have no doubt has been pur- 
suing her to-night, for see ! there is a fresh 
gash on her wrist, and her dress is torn in 
many places. He has often caught and' 
fettered her, and it is only in the circle of 
the shadow you see, that her life is safe.- 
Within it the Genie has not power to step r 
and she sleeps there securely.” 

Just then the little Frith stirred, woke r 
and raised her arm into the moonlight. It 
was indeed sadly gashed and streaked with, 
blood. She went to the brook, and kneel- 
ing, played with the swift-running wateiy 
which cured the wounded wrist with ite 
soft kisses. 

Zyx ran down the knoll and across the- 
meadow with all speed, and was at the? 
brookside before Kruza had time to speaks 


63 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

But when lie reached the spot, behold no 
Frith was there! Where the brook had 
been was a dense forest ; the meadow had 
become a swamp, and Kruza stood before 
him in human shape. 

“Foolish boy! Do you not know that 
I can change the form of all substances by 
enchantment ? It is of little use to attempt 
to elude my power. Vain sprite, did you 
imagine that you could relieve Frith ?” 

“No, Kruza,” replied Zyx, with angry 
tears in his eyes, “ I imagined nothing. But 
since you are mistress of enchantment, 
why not relieve her yourself? Enchant 
away forever that cruel goblin. Enchant 
her into a palace, as you have me into a 
dark forest.” 

“ Ah Zyx,” she said, more gently, “ I will 
show you a secret.” And she led him on 
through the densest part of the wood, over 
brooks, through ravines, and finally, to the 
foot of a granite ledge where, pushing aside 
the interwoven branches, she pointed to a 
dark opening in the rock, and motioned 
him to enter. 

Zyx began now to fear that Kruza her- 
self was an evil spirit, and would have left 
her ; but the air behind him became solid, 
and he was forced to obey her. His fear 
increased every moment as they wound 
their way along a dark descending passage. 


64 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

The awful stillness oppressed him, and a 
strange numbness made it difficult for him 
to proceed. At the end of the passage, 
Kruza whistled, and soon after a door open- 
ed into a cave whose sides were plates of 
polished silver. It was lighted by innumer- 
able fire-flies. 

“This hall,” said Kruza, “is called Faries’ 
Fate. Over each silver mirror is a name, 
and in it may be discerned its owner’s des- 
tiny. Look for yourself.” 

Zyx glanced hastily along the wall till 
he discovered the name Feith, in letters of 
pearls, over a convex oval mirror. It was 
some minutes before his eyes became suffi- 
ciently accustomed to the faint flickering 
light to discern the minute picture within 
it. At length he said to Kruza, “ I see a 
mountain-range, whose peaks overlook a 
vast expanse of varied landscape, blue sea, 
and shifting clouds. Their feet are wrapped 
in a robe of feathery green ; their sides 
are of lichen-stained granite, from whose 
crevices spring hardy heaths, and low ever- 
green shrubs ; their summits are gray and 
white. On one of the higher peaks stands 
a castle ” — here he drew nearer the mirror, 
holding his breath lest it should dim the 
picture. When he turned, Kruza saw a 
smile of content and peace on his lips. 

“ On the mountain is a castle,” he went 


65 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

on, “built of precious stones. I do not 
know the names of all, but its doors are of 
opals and its turrets of sapphires. The 
windows are wide open on all sides, and 
yet no rough wind disturbs the inmates. 
Within I see moving figures. One seems 
like Frith, grown to be a woman. She 
stands in the tower, and one hand — it is 
soft and white, with no scar of blisters or 
wounds — rests upon the telescope through 
which she has been looking. She watches 
a distant star, and smiles. Around her 
are spirits as beautiful as she, who watch 
with her, and seem to speak, for she often 
turns to listen and answer. Then her eyes 
grow bright, and her whole form seems 
luminous, as do theirs.” 

Zyx and Kruza then retraced their 
steps along the dark gallery. Zyx passed 
through the narrow opening first, and 
seeing it was now dawn, turned to take 
leave of the fairy, but she had vanished. 
So also had the granite cliff. The little 
brook prattled innocently over the stones, 
and he followed it up till he came to the 
path which led to his cave. 



CHAPTER X. 


YX continued his daily 
mining without intermis- 
sion. Sometimes he would 
find in the morning that 
pieces of rock had sunk 
into the earth during the 
night, extending the ex- 
cavation more than he 
could have done by days 
of toil. Often he came to 
large cavities in the rock, 
extending in the direction of his tunnel. 
Thus he progressed, by various means, and 
his task, though laborious, was not hope- 
less. Besides, the words of his guide had at 
length come to have so much authority with 
him, that he would have continued mining 
at his bidding, even without the prospect 
of reaching the Country beyond the Hills, 
which now encouraged him. Zyx had 
heard often of this country since he began 
his work, and longed to reach it. His 



Zyx and his Fairy, 67 

friends on this side, though aware that it 
was a healthful clime, and that its inhabit- 
ants enjoyed a superior civilization, knew 
but little else about it. No postal com- 
munication between the two countries ex- 
isted; of its name, even, they were igno- 
rant, and always called it the Country be- 
yond the Hills. On ascertaining that his 
guide lived there, Zyx became more than 
ever anxious to reach it, and would not for 
worlds have given up his undertaking. 
The thought of ever being separated from 
his friend, became insupportable. 

Yet he had not seen him. The mantle, 
which Zyx would have had removed, always 
covered the stranger’s face. One night he 
lay long awake, trying to guess the hidden 
features, and longing for the morning to 
come again, that he might resume his work 
with the familiar grasp upon his arm. 

Zyx’s work was nearer its completion 
than he thought. He rose that morning, 
and began drilling as usual. But he no- 
ticed that the rock had a peculiar sound, 
and in the intervals of work he thought he 
heard the ringing of bells. The guide 
said nothing, but held his arm all the 
while. Presently the granite mass at which 
he worked, cracked from summit to base, 
and fell outward with a crash that stunned 
the boy, and he fell senseless into the 


68 Zyx and his Fairy. 

stranger’s arms. He was gently lifted, 
carried out over tlie rubbish, and laid in 
the shadow of a tree, his head still resting 
on the shoulder of the guide, who chafed 
his hands, and kissed his eyelids. Then 
Zyx revived, and fixed his regards upon 
the face from which the mantle had now 
dropped. Its indescribable beauty over- 
awed but did not terrify him ; yet he felt 
still too weak to speak, and could only look 
wonderingly at the shining golden locks. 
Inwoven with them, and passing over the 
brow, was a golden circlet; the meaning of 
which the child did not understand. 

“ Rest, Zyx,” said the guide, and draw- 
ing him to his breast, covered him entirely 
with his own robe, which was white and 
shining. 

“ It always seemed black in the tunnel,” 
thought the boy, but did not speak, and 
was soon lost in happy dreams. While 
he slept, a number of the citizens of the 
country approached, and the guide talked 
with them in a low voice. 

When Zyx woke, refreshed with sleep, 
they were still there. He cast a frightened 
look towards them, then hid his face in his 
friend’s robe, who smiled and said, “ They 
are your friends, Zyx. They dwell yon- 
der upon the hills, and will be your com- 
panions.” 


69 


Zyx and his Fairy . 

“We love all who are beloved of our 
King,” said the eldest and fairest of them. 

Zyx now understood the meaning of the 
golden circlet. He put up his hand and 
touched it, then burst into tears. The 
king bent over him, whispered words 
which the citizens did not hear, and wiped 
away his tears. When he looked up and 
discovered that the strangers were gone, he 
took the opportunity to ask many ques- 
tions about the Country beyond the Hills, 
all of which the king answered in a low 
soft voice, explaining to him, besides, many 
things connected with the mine, which had 
been mysterious. Meantime other com- 
panies of citizens came to the king, and 
Zyx grew familiar with their appearance. 
They talked much with the lad, and though 
they were wise and strong, and in every 
way far superior to him, their gentle man- 
ners dispelled his embarrassment, and he 
became quite at home in their presence. 

As soon as Zyx had perfectly recovered 
his strength, the king took him by the 
hand and they all set out for the Hills. 
As they ascended, the horizon line took 
remoter and still remoter curves, until 
woodland, vale and ocean were included in 
the prospect, as Zyx had seen in the silver 
mirror. At length they reached a region 
beyond clouds, where the air, though cool 


70 Zyx and Ms Fairy . 

and fresh, blew softly in their faces. These 
hights were not lonely; for innumerable 
castles and palaces crowned them. The 
salubrious air had drawn hither many of 
the inhabitants of the country. 

Zyx stood breathlessly looking at the 
grand placid ocean, when a touch on his 
shoulder from one of his new friends who 
stood by, drew his attention in another 
direction. 

A child was toiling up the westward 
slope, her eyes fixed upon the path to 
watch her footing. Yes, it was Frith. She 
climbed swiftly, panting as she came, like 
one pursued. Behind her, in the shadow 
of a ledge, Zyx saw a hideous shape. It 
was the Genie, scaling the rock by means 
of his claws, since his feet were too huge 
and ponderous to follow in the path Frith 
took. 

For one moment he seemed sure of inter- 
cepting her, but his hand touched a certain 
mystic carving on the rock, when suddenly 
his grasp relaxed, and he fell backwards 
over the precipice. It was the figure of 
the tree ; the touch had stunned him. 

Meantime the king had gone down to 
meet Frith, but the little one did not see 
him, till he had lifted her in his arms, and 
then she swooned away. The citizens, who 
had followed, would have taken the child ; 


Zyx and his Fairy. 71 

but the king made no reply to their offers, ' 
and bore her to the summit, where she 
opened her eyes and saw his face for the 
first time. 

No sooner had she done so than her full 
strength came to her. Standing upon the 
rocky steep, she fixed her eyes upon him 
with the eagerness with which a famished 
man gazes upon food ; and at that instant 
her body became luminous, and her blue 
robe turned to white. At the same time 
her form expanded, and she grew in a mo- 
ment to her full stature. Then the king 
took both her hands, and she saw that 
there were scars on his. The citizens did 
not hear the words he spoke, but saw him 
lead her to a palace whose gates were opals 
and whose towers were sapphires. 

Zyx also had a castle near by. Both 
were filled with happy guests, for the coun- 
try was populous, and none had any joy 
alone, but shared it with others. 

“ That is why,” said one of the guests to 
Zyx, as he stood looking from a window, 
u the houses of our country are so large. 
You see none but spacious mansions; some, 
it is true, more capacious than others, yet 
all having ample room for guests. Various 
in design, they are adapted to the tastes 
of the owners. All were built at the king’s 
expense, and have one property peculiar to 


72 


Zyx and his Fairy. 

the dwellings of this land. All that tran- 
spires in them may be distinctly seen and 
heard from without, by the citizens of the 
country ; but when an evil genie approach- 
es, which sometimes happens, they become 
opaque and impenetrable to sound.” 

“ Where is the king’s palace V 7 inquired 
Zyx. 

“He has no separate dwelling,” replied 
the guest, “ but lives among his people.” 


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